Calgary
starts a quick three
game road trip tonight
in Madison Square
Gardens.It is the first
time the Flames have
played in New York in
two years.That game on
January 5, 2004 saw the
Flames beat up the
Rangers 5–0.A lot has changed
for both teams in those
two years.

Back
at the start of 2004
Calgary was heading into
the second half of the
season clinging to hopes
of hosting a playoff
game for the first time
in seven years.They had
completed a very
successful December
going 10-3-2 and were
starting to show their
beleaguered fans some
glimmer of hope.The Rangers, on
the other hand, were in
the middle of another
abysmal season that they
finished with just 69
points.

Fast
forward to 2006.After an
unexpected playoff run
to the Stanley Cup
Finals in 2004 the
Flames have become one
of the elite teams in
the NHL.The go into
tonight’s game in 1st
place in the
Northwestern Division
and 3rd in
the Western Conference.A rejuvenated
Rangers squad sits 5th
in the Eastern
Conference with a record
11 games above 0.500.

Tonight’s
game is a solid match-up
between two similar
teams with a very
different approach.

On
The Line

Calgary
needs to shake off the
disappointment from a
Saturday night meltdown
against Division rivals
the Vancouver Canucks.The Flames blew a
two goal lead in the
third period and lost
4-3 in overtime.The Rangers are
coming off an impressive
4-0 win over the
struggling Florida
Panthers.

The
Flow

Neither
team jumped out to a
particularly stunning
start.There was a
feeling that the
unfamiliar teams were
testing out their
opponents in an effort
to find and exploit
weaknesses in each
other’s game.Calgary would end
up striking first off a
Dion Phaneuf slap shot
from the right point
that was deflected by
Rangers defenseman Marek
Malik. The Flames would
score again just 38
seconds later when Rhett
Warrener took advantage
of a turnover in the
Rangers zone.

The
Rangers fought back in
the second period and
began to carry the play.They were
rewarded with two goals,
one of which was a shot
from behind the goal
line that deflected off
the skate of Phaneuf and
went in short side
Flames keeper Mikka
Kiprusoff.

The
two even teams exchanged
chances in the third
period but it would be
the Rangers who would
make the most of their
chances.The game winning
goal came with 5:37 gone
in the period.Flames forward
Tony Amonte was lazy
getting back on a
Rangers odd man rush and
the ensuing shot by
Jason Ward ended up in a
fairly wide-open Flame's
net.With Kiprusoff on
the bench for the extra
attacker the Rags put
the game out of the
Flames reach.

Three
Stars

1
– Petr Sykora.
In his first game
as a New York Ranger he
assisted on the 3rd
Ranger goal and scored
the 4th.His style of play
fits perfectly into the
Rangers approach.

2 – Martin Straka.Scored the game
winning goal and was an
offensive force all
night.Complimented his
new line mate Sykora
very well.

3 – Henrik
Lundqvist. The
rookie goalie kept the
Flames off the score
sheet for the entire
second and third
periods.

Big
Hit

There were a couple nice
ones in tonight’s game
but the honor goes to
aging Rangers super-pest
Darius Kasparaitis.As an errant
Flames pass from their
zone trickled over the
blue line Daymond
Langkow sped up to take
control of it.He was abruptly
met by Kasparitis and
was sent sprawling to
the ice.

Big
Save

An unlikely winner
tonight.Flames defenseman
Roman Hamrlik stopped a
sure Rangers goal off a
wrap around when he was
able to sweep away the
puck when it was within
just inches of the goal
line.Kiprusoff was
sliding over from the
far post and would not
have gotten to the puck
in time.

The
Goat

The Flames team as a
whole deserves some
consideration for an
annoying lack of killer
instinct.This is the
second game in a row
they have blown a two
goal lead.However,
tonight’s goat is none
other then Tony Amonte
for his pathetic effort
on the 3rd
Rangers goal.He let up on
Jason Ward in the slot
and left the Rangers
right-winger in alone.Ward got the pass
from the corner and made
no mistake with a gaping
Flames net in front of
him.

Mr.
Clutch

Petr Sykora gets the
honor tonight.Not necessarily
because of his stellar
play but more due to the
fact that he was just
traded to the Rangers
and immediately made his
presence known.

Odds
and Ends

Dion Phaneuf scored his
10th goal
tonight.If he keeps up this pace he may be able to break Brian
Leetch’s record for
most goals by a rookie
defenseman.As impressive as
that is, 10 of
Phaneuf’s 11 goals
have come on the power
play.He needs to
contribute more 5 on
5…A disturbing trend
in the Flames play has
emerged.Earlier in the
season they were
continually out shooting
their opponents.In game of late
they have either been
out shot or have allowed
30 or more shots on net.Or, in some
cases,
both…Tonight’s game
was relatively well
refereed.Both teams were
fairly disciplined and
both teams were afforded
5 power plays…An
interesting comparison
from tonight’s game
can mildly illustrate
the different approaches
the Flames and Rangers
use.Calgary had only
5 giveaways and the
Ranger’s 10 but the
Rangers were credited
with 12 takeaways to
Calgary’s 5…Calgary
didn’t have a single
player under 50% in the
faceoff circle tonight.The Flames won
63% of all the draws
taken…Chuck Kobasew
had a decent night and
was awarded with almost
15 minutes on the ice.Recently he has
been seeing much less of
the ice…Roman Hamrlik
made a somewhat
surprising return to
action.He wasn’t
expected to be back from
his knee injury until
Saturday…Darren
McCarty has been banged
up lately and was a game
time decision.He was clearly
laboring out there at
times tonight.

Next
up – Thursday,
January 12, 2006.On Long Island.5:00pm MST.Available on
Rogers Sportsnet and Fan
960 am.